Freedom for Iran: April 2018

Saturday, April 21, 2018

Iran protests &strikes,A look at protests in Iran during the month of April 2018

MEK,7 May 2018- Iran witnessed 452 protest rallies throughout the month of April, meaning a daily average of 15 rallies staged by credit firm clients, farmers, merchants, students, workers and other branches of the society. Economic pressures and the Iranian regime’s repressive policies were the main focus of these gatherings, marking an increase in comparison to March.

Continued protests surged in April, in addition to women and the youth overcoming all odds to take part in most of these protests.

Here’s a statistical breakdown of April’s protest rallies:

Credit firm clients: 39 rallies

Retirees: 7

Students: 16

Teachers: 8

Workers: 109

Other sectors: 245

16th consecutive day of strike by merchants in Baneh
Report by; PMOI/MEK
30 April 2018-- Merchants and shop owners of Baneh, in the Kurdistan province in western Iran, started their sixteenth's consecutive day of strike and protests on Monday, April 30, 2018. They are protesting against the closure of border passages, and the increase of customs dues.

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Residents of Marivan clashed with the Suppressive IRGC mercenaries

Iran, April 25, 2018 – Residents of Marivan, in Kurdistan province clashed with the suppressive state security forces last night after the IRGC shot a Kurdish man dead.
The clashes continued well into the night and stretched all the way to Bu-Ali Hospital, which is on the other side of the town.
Residents of Marivan were angry, because an IRGC commander, Col. Kaveh Kohneh-Pooshi had shot Haj Latif Nami, a resident of Marivan and had set his home on fire. The people demanded that this commander would be turned over to the authorities for his criminal act or be handed over to the people.

Escalation of protests in Iran's drought-ridden Isfahan province

- On April 13th, as farmers continued their protests against the government’s water policies in Iran’s Isfahan Province, they received a surprising blow. During a Friday prayer sermon in Isfahan on that same day, Ayatollah Yousef Tabatabaeinejad said, “As someone who has always been on the farmers’ side, I don’t think they have the right to demonstrate.
” He added, “Religious and revolutionary farmers would not do such a thing. They should separate themselves from seditious elements.”
The Iran Meteorological Organization reports that at least 97 percent of the country is experiencing drought to some degree. However, Isfahan’s farmers say that government mismanagement has exacerbated the drought, as water is diverted from the province’s main river to neighboring Yazd Province.
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Workers At Qazvin Steel Company Protest Expulsion Of Colleagues In Takestan, Iran

Apr 23, 2018-- More than 200 workers from the Qazvin Steel Company gathered on Sunday, April 22, in front of the office of the Gazvin Governor in Iran, to protest the expulsion of their colleagues.
One of the Qazvin Steel protesting workers said: “Since yesterday morning, factory managers refuse to pay at least three months of wage and salary due to shortages of funds and prevented about 100 of our colleagues to enter their workplace.
Stating that the work experience of some expelled workers reaches up to 15 years of work, the worker said: “In total, the plant has about 200 workers, which, in addition to lack of job security, the private-sector employer disregards salary payments too”.
“Workers are worried that the layoffs of workers will continue and we will see the layoffs of other contract workers in the coming weeks,” the worker said.

Retired Laborers Of Western Alborz Coal Mine In Tehran, Iran Stage Protest Demanding Retirement Claims

Apr 23, 2018-- On Sunday, April 22, 2018, a group of retired workers of Western Alborz Coal Mine located in Gilan Province gathered in front of the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization Building (IMIDRO) in Tehran, Iran.
The retired workers also gathered yesterday in front of the Iran Minerals Production and Supply Company (IMPASCO). They demanded the authorities meet their unfulfilled retirement claims.

The Protesting retirees at the Western Alborz Coal Mine have currently not received their pensions for February and March, and the Steel Fund is said to have created many problems in providing health care and welfare for the retirees.

Phase 19 workers in Asaluyeh protested by closing the gates of the factory

April 22, 2018 - A group of workers from the South Park phase 19 natural-gas project in Asaluyeh, southern Iran, gathered to protest against their layoff in front the factory entrance. Protestors closed the gate to the factory and did not allow anyone to enter or exit the premises. Workers are demanding their return to work. Government agents laid off these workers after the expansion project was completed, and are hiring their friends based on favoritism and not qualification.

Marivan University Students Support Bordering Bazaar Merchants’ Protests And Strikes In Iran

Apr 22, 2018 -- On Sunday, April 22nd, merchants and businessmen of the Baneh bazaar and market continued their nationwide strike after several consecutive days in protest to the closure of Iran’s borders and increasing tariffs. Marivan University students also expressed their support for the merchants’ strikes in the bordering towns of Iran.
The Iranian government has completely closed the borders of Baneh, Marivan, Piranhasar, and Sardasht in recent months. The closure of the borders, and especially the porters’ pathway borders, has led to a sharp rise in unemployment.

According to the representative of the city of Marivan, 8,000 people have been unemployed in the city, causing a sharp recession among merchants and businesses.
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Strike of merchants and shopkeepers in border provinces continue for one week

On Saturday, April 21, the strike of merchants and shopkeepers in the provinces of Kurdistan, Kermanshah and West Azarbaijan continued for the seventh consecutive day.
The merchants of Sare-Pol-e Zahab and Mahabad also joined the protest on Friday. Meanwhile, repressive forces have arrested a number of strikers in recent days to prevent the spread of these protests.
On Saturday, Sardasht merchants protested in front of the governorate building against rising customs duties.
In Baneh, a poor young man was arrested because he had protested in front of Saeed Jalili, Khamenei’s representative, against the killings of border porters, the hunger of the people in the area, and stoppage of their business on Wednesday, April 18. Jalili's visit to Baneh, which was aimed at deceiving the protesters and forcing them to end the strike, failed ignominiously.
In Piranshahr, regime mercenaries set fire at one of the cars of the strikers in the Kani Shinkah area in order to intimidate them.
In the border town of Bazargan (West Azerbaijan), people protested against the closure of border routes, which has been their only way of earning money and making their living, by blocking the main street of the city.
In yet another development in Sanandaj, workers from the Mohammadi manufacturing company stopped working in protest against the expulsion of one of their colleagues. Following a visit by a representative of Khamenei and the governor, one of the workers objected to the severe exploitation of the workers and the low level of wages. The employer immediately fired the worker, which provoked a strong protest by the workers.

Labor Protests At Orumieh Steel Manufacturing Factory In West Azarbaijan, Iran
On Saturday, April 21, 2018, workers at Orumieh Steel Manufacturing Factory in West Azarbaijan, Iran spread a large empty table and staged a protest sit-in and rally.

The steel manufacturing workers launched the protest in front of the Governorate of West Azerbaijan because they have not received one year of their salary and their social security premiums
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Workers Of Dam Construction Project In Piranshahr, Iran Go On Strike
The workers of the dam construction project in Piranshahr, western Iran went on strike against the lack of salary payments.
Despite threats from the government of expulsion from work, the workers of the Kani Siv dam in Piranshahr are on the fifth day of their strike as a sign of protest.

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Expelled Workers of South Pars Gas company blocked the entrance to the south pars complex
in a protest action, expelled workers of phase 19 of the South Pars Gas Complex blocked the entrance to the Complex (in Assaluyeh) and did not allow anyone to pass in or out of the complex.

The protesters have been demanding a return to their work and object to hiring non-indigenous forces instead of native people in the area.
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Workers' gathering in various Iranian cities
Workers of Dezful, a city in southwestern Iran, gathered for the fifth consecutive day on Saturday to protest against a lengthy delay in the payment of their salaries.
In Abadan, also southwestern Iran, city workers staged a protest against several months of delay in receiving their salaries.
In Sanandaj, west of Iran, a group of workers at the "Industrial Town No3" went on strike in protest to the layoff of one of their coworkers.

Workers of Sarvbad, west of Iran, went on strike to protest against their long overdue salaries.
Strikes by merchants and shop owners in Baneh, Mahabad, Sardasht and Javanrood

April 21, 2018 - Cities of Baneh, Mahabad, Sardasht and Javanrood, in western Iran, witnessed once again on Saturday, a widespread general strike by merchants and shop owners. They protested against the closure of the western border passes, which shut down their businesses solely dependent on trade with neighboring Iraq. The strike is also in protest against a sharp increase in customs duties.

New Protests In Kazerun With Chants Of "Beware Of The Day When We Take Up Arms."
On Friday, April 20, 2018, thousands of residents of Kazerun, southern Iran, staged anti-regime protests for the fifth consecutive day. People also gathered in the city's grand mosque and denounced the regime's plan to divide the city.

The demonstration was held while the city's so-called city council, Friday prayers’ leader, and state media had announced that all gatherings were banned until the Kazerun city separation plan is determined.
Residents of Kazeroun,including a remarkable number of brave women continued their protests against segregation of the city for the fourth consecutive day.

Anti-Riot Forces Take Up Positions In Kazerun To Quell Major Protest

On Thursday, April 19, despite the presence of heavily-armed anti-riot forces, thousands of residents of Kazerun, southern Iran, turned out for a fourth consecutive day of protests over the regime’s plans to divide the city. There was a strong presence of women in the ranks of the protesters.
In one section of the city square, where the protest was being held, youth bravely chanted at the suppressive security forces:
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Women’s extensive participation in the protest in azeroun

18 April 2018-- Thousands of residents of Kazeroun, one of the major cities of Fars Province in southern Iran, staged a huge demonstration for the third consecutive day in the city’s main square. Women’s presence in this protest on Wednesday, April 18, 2018, was active and remarkable.
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Continuation Of Strikes In Kurdistan, Kermanshah And West Azarbaijan Provinces, And Arresting A Number Of Protesters

A general strike was underway in a number of western Iranian cities on Wednesday, April 18th in Marivan, Mahabad, Saqqez, and Piranshahr. Bazaar merchants and store owners in these cities were protesting to the sudden jump in customs tariffs and the closer of the border passes. All these cities are located at the Iran-Iraq border.

On Wednesdays and Thursdays, April 18 and 19, the strike of merchants and shopkeepers in the cities of the border regions of Kurdistan, Kermanshah and West Azarbaijan provinces continued in wider dimensions than before. In addition to the cities of Javanrood, Baneh, Marivan and Saghez, the merchants in the towns of Sardasht, Mahabad, Boukan and Piranshahr also joined the strikers.
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Friday, April 6, 2018

Get to khnow People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK)& NCRI-ASHRAF III, RISING From the ASHES: Iranian Opposition Terrifies Tehran Rulers

Prominent European dignitary publishes new report on Iranian opposition PMOI/MEK

London, March 5, 2019 - “Ashraf III – Rising From The Ashes” is the title of a new report published by Struan Stevenson, a prominent former member of the European Parliament and a known expert on Middle East affairs, especially Iraq. The report, presented on Tuesday at a London press conference, provides a detailed explanation on why the mullahs’ regime ruling Iran is escalating its propaganda campaign and terror measures against the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), the main member of the Paris-based Iranian opposition coalition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCR

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ASHRAF III, RISING From the ASHES: Iranian Opposition Terrifies Tehran Rulers; A European Delegation Report Paperback – February 2019

Introducing a new book by Struan Stevenson
This European delegation report recalls the suffering of several thousand men and women members of the Iranian democratic opposition, People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK). They were living in exile in Camp Ashraf and later Camp Liberty in Iraq. After the withdrawal of the US military, they were left at the mercy of the vicious Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his masters in Tehran. Finally, the tiny country of Albania, agreed to provide them with a safe haven in Tirana.
Now the "Ashrafis"have a home and have made friends with the local Albanians. Their fortitude and stamina has acted as a beacon of hope for the 80 million beleaguered citizens of Iran who hope and pray for freedom from oppression and now look to the MEK as the harbingers of a future of democracy, justice, and peace.
The author visited the Iranian opposition center, Ashraf III, with 2 senior Members of the European Parliament, Tunne Kelam & Jaromir Stetina, and spoke with the residents to hear their stories as well as observing the progress they have made in setting up their new home.
The report goes into some detail of the chaos that has engulfed Iran, leading to the first anniversary of the nationwide uprising. It shows how the clerical regime has reacted with brutal force, killing, imprisoning and intimidating the Iranian population, rather than seeking to resolve the crisis. The report shows how the mullahs have reacted to the threats to their regime by ramping up their sponsorship of international terror and cyberwarfare, as well as a demonization campaign against their main organized opposition.
The report is highly critical of the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs – Federica Mogherini – for her continued attempts to ignore the blatant abuse of human rights that take place in Iran on a daily basis.
To buy the book, order on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1527236935/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1549416893&sr=8-1&keywords=9781527236936

#MaryamRajavi on the Third Option for Dealing With #Iran Regime

In the West, it is widely believed that there two ways to deal with the Iranian Regime: appeasement or war. Since 1979, appeasement has won out and most countries have bent over backwards to ignore the Regime’s atrocities in order to avoid all-out war, which would have its own problems.
However, there is a third option, put forth by Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, which is supporting regime change in Iran that is brought about by the Iranian people and the Iranian Resistance.
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The leader Iran’s regime fears the most is Maryam Rajavi:
Rudy Giuliani

In an article published on Sunday, October 28, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, now lawyer to U.S. President Donald Trump, calls for the recognition of Iranian opposition People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) as the alternative to the Iranian regime.
As protests inside Iran escalate and the mullahs’ regime faces an ever-growing international isolation, analysts and observers are discussing the issue of the alternative for this regime that can guarantee the correct transition to freedom and democracy based on the Iranian people’s will.
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Newsmax-Objectivity Missing in Report on Iran Resistance
By Raymond Tanter
Yellow journalism is a style of reporting that emphasizes sensationalism over facts. This 19th century description is often referred to nowadays as fake news. One such example was demonstrated on MSNBC’s “On Assignment” program, narrated by Richard Engel. On May 25, Engel brought up unfounded allegations against a leading Iranian opposition group, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), which is a member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), described as Iran’s Parliament in Exile.
Instead of presenting a balanced report rich with evidence, MSNBC reached out to an infamous agent of the Iranian regime’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) for two decades, as the key witness to discuss Iran’s opposition movement.
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The history of the Iranian opposition: NCRI chooses Maryam Rajavi as its president-elect

On October 22, 1993, Massoud Rajavi, the leader of the Iranian Resistance, made public in a statement to the Simaya Azadi Television, a decision of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) on the transition of power to the Iranian people after the fall of the clerical regime.
According to this decision, which was taken on August 27 of the same year, members of the NCRI unanimously elected Maryam Rajavi as the President of the Republic in the transition period following the overthrow of the Islamic Republic.
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Meet the MEK: Iranian freedom fighters working to effect regime change
On a recent business trip to Albania, I was invited to visit the new camp of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, or the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK), still being built about 45 minutes outside of Tirana, on the way to the Albanian coast. I accepted the invitation, although I must admit, I had no idea what to expect upon reaching the sprawling facility which is the new home for approximately 3,200 of the Iranian resistance movement’s personnel, after being forced out of Iraq by violence from the Iranian-backed government.
I want to write more about the group and its agenda in the near future, but today I just want to explore what I found at ‘Ashraf 3’, which is the name the MEK has given the new camp, after the first Ashraf on the Iraqi border, where the group launched raids into Iran almost two decades ago.
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A primer on the history of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran
Anyone who remembers Iran in the 1950s and 1960s can attest that it was an era marked by severe repression against the dissidents and political activists. After conducting the 1953 coup against Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh, Iran’s popular Prime Minister who nationalized the country’s oil industry, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Iran’s monarch, had forced all opposition groups and movements into silence and submission. Through his brutal secret police, the Savak, Pahlavi had established an iron-fisted rule.
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PMOI/MEK resistance units mark 53rd founding anniversary
Members of numerous resistance units associated to the Iranian opposition People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) put up posters of the PMOI/MEK founding members and Iranian Resistance leader Massoud Rajavi, alongside banners and placards in various cities across the country, celebrating this organization’s 53rd founding anniversary on September 6th.
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The Foundation of The People's Mojahedin Organization Of Iran

The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran, was founded on Sept. 6th, 1965 by Mohammad Hanifnejad and two other young intellectuals, Sa'id Mohsen and Ali-Asghar Badi'zadegan . The three wanted to establish a Muslim, progressive, nationalist and democratic organization.

The ultimate goal of the founders, who were all university graduate, was to pave the way for a democratic government to replace the Shah's regime. In contrast to most of their contemporaries, they believed that a new, democratically inclined interpretation of Islam was the means to this end. They set about establishing a political organization that could survive the shah's repression and respond to the needs of ordinary citizens.

Until 1971, however, the PMOI was involved in formulating a new interpretation of Islam that rejected traditional and reactionary understanding of the religion. In six years the Mojahedin succeeded, for the first time, in the modern day Islamic world in presenting a new, systematic and comprehensive vision of Islam that was entirely independent of what was espoused and advocated by the fundamentalist mullahs who considered the interpretation of Islam their exclusive domain.

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Founders of the Mojahedin: Mohammad Hanifnejad

Mohammad Hanifnejad was one of the three people who founded the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), the longest standing and most prominent Iranian opposition group. Born in 1939 to a working-class family in Tabriz, northwestern Iran, Hanifnejad underwent a tough childhood. However, life calamities did not prevent him from following his studies in Tabriz.

Founders of the Mojahedin: Saeid Mohsen
Saeid Mohsen, one of the three founders of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), was born in 1939 in Zanjan, a city in the northwestern province of Azerbaijan. He obtained his diploma in Zanjan and headed to Tehran, the Iranian capital, to lead his advance studies in mechanical engineering in Tehran’s Technical University.
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Founders of the Mojahedin: Ali Asghar Badizadegan
Ali Asghar Badizadegan, one of the three founders of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), was born in 1940 in Isfahan. Badizadegan spent his childhood and youth in Isfahan, Karaj and Tehran. He studied chemical engineering at the Technical University of Tehran, where he became assistant professor in 1964.
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NCRI The Key That Will Unlock Iran
A look at global support for the one and only democratic alternative to the Iranian regime
When Iranian people took to the streets earlier this year to protest against the dictatorship ruling their country and set overthrow bells ringing for the mullahs’ regime, the first question that came to mind was that what’s going to happen to Iran, and which key is going to unlock the gates of this dark city?
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What’s the alternative to the mullahs’ rule?
In 1979, the people of Iran rose against their rulers, and their uprising resulted in the toppling of the Shah regime. While the national solidarity was strong and the sacrifices made by the Iranian people were many, what the 1979 revolution missed was a true alternative to the Shah regime. Absent an organized Iranian opposition movement that could lead the country toward the establishment of true democracy in the wake of the Shah’s overthrow, Khomeini and his gang of mullahs took advantage of their religious clout to seize power and found what has become one of the worst dictatorships in modern history.
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A Democratic Alternative for Iran’s Regime
With the widespread protests over the past months, in which Iranians have been calling for a change to their government, “Iran” is now under the spotlight of regional and global political discussions.
Recently, a gathering was held in France, by the regime’s main opposing force, i.e., the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI); in which, more than 10 thousand Iranians watched the speech of its leader Maryam Rajavi, who shared her outlook on Iran’s current situation. She also applauded Iranians for their strong rise and asked them to continue with their fight across the country. She emphasised that with the support of NCRI, their victory would be inevitable.
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Getting to know the Iranian regime’s main opposition
On June 20, 1981, the security forces of the Iranian regime opened fire on a peaceful, 500,000–strong demonstration in Tehran, putting a violent end in a tenuous era of peaceful political activism that had started in February 1979 after popular protests toppled the Shah regime and saw the rise of Ruhollah Khomeini and the mullahs to power. On the morrow of June 20, the regime’s forces would arrest, torture and execute anyone affiliated with opposition groups, especially the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
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MEK: Iranian Freedom Fighters
By Jubin Katiraie

The People’s Mojahedin of Iran (PMOI/MEK) has been subjected to a decades’ long disinformation campaign and overall persecution by the Iranian Mullahs, so we wanted to tell you the truth about these freedom fighters.
The MEK is the largest and most popular opposition organisation in Iran, with its liberal interpretation of Islam and democratic policies, making it beloved among the Iranian people.
These same values, and the MEK’s ability to lead and govern, are the reason why the mullahs are always seeking to destroy the MEK.
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Resistance to Iran’s Rulers Has a Leaders

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) Is the Democratic Alternative.
The NCRI is a coalition representing all Iranian political and ethnic groups, including all ethnic and religious minorities

The 8 Characteristics of an #Alternative

Why The National Council of Resistance of #Iran (#NCRI) is the only organized, #democratic #opposition is D #Alternative?

WHAT IS THE NCRI?
by Mahmood Hakamian

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) is a broad coalition of democratic groups, organisations and personalities that are opposed to the theocratic regime in Iran and want to see regime change.
The NCRI wish to see a democratic republic established in Iran, with separation of religion and state, and a special focus on human rights and gender equality.
Massoud Rajavi, the leader of the Iranian Resistance, founded it in 1981 in Tehran after the mullahs hijacked the 1979 Iranian Revolution, rigged the 1980 election, and began to attack the popular resistance group, the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
There are five organizations that make up the NCRI, with the biggest and most popular being the MEK.
THE NCRI TODAY
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Why Is The Mullahs Regime More Afraid Of The PMOI/MEK In Albania Than The MEK In Iraq?!

The regime wants to use a completely different spectrum of tactics to apply this time around.
The Mullah’s regime in Iran has a single and widespread strategy against the MEK! The unit, inasmuch as its purpose is to eliminate the issue of a possible overthrow of it’s corrupt governance, which, from the regime’s point of view, is only the strong and determined MEK, that intends to realize it.
The regime wants to use a completely different spectrum of tactics to apply this time around.
When the MEK were in Iraq, the field for testing, erroneousness, and the execution of all imaginary tactics, on the MEK was open to the Iran regime! They even went so for to attack the PMOI and shoot at them on many different occasions. Sometimes, they attacked them by missiles. These attacks caused dozens of martyrs and hundreds were severely injured!
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How One MEK Rally Scared the Mullahs So Much That They Banned All Political Rallies

By Jubin Katiraie
The mullahs’ regime became increasingly like a dictatorship following the rigged elections of 1980, when the mullahs stole power from the Iranian people and their democratic resistance forces the People's Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
In June, five months after the election, the mullahs closed down the universities under the auspices of a “cultural revolution”, but in reality, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wanted to suppress a group that was more likely to rebel against the mullahs.
Shortly after this, the MEK called a demonstration against the mullahs’ malign behaviour at Amjadiyeh Stadium in Tehran on June 12, which attracted more than 200,000 people.
At the rally, MEK leader Massoud Rajavi addressed the dangers of the mullahs’ rising dictatorship and called on the MEK supporters to defend the freedoms that had been fought for in the 1979 revolution including freedom of speech, associations, and gatherings.
He also declared that the mullahs would not intimidate the MEK. He said: “We’re not afraid of bullets. If freedom means death, then we will die.
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A Short History of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK)

The People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran or Mojahedin-e Khalq (PMOI/MEK) is a political group dedicated to the realization of a free and democratic Iran, but how did it start?

On September 6, 1965, the MEK was founded by three engineers Mohammad Hanifnejad, Said Mohsen, and Ali-Ashgar Badizadgan.

They had previously been involved with the Freedom/Liberation Movement, created by Medhi Bazargan in May 1961, which advocated for the democratic principles that were laid out in the Iranian constitution following the 1905 resolution. The group had been allowed to peacefully assemble and advocate for political freedom and the separation of powers for two years.

However, in 1963, Ruhollah Khomeini gave a public speech criticising the monarchy and was arrested. In response, large free speech and anti-monarchy protests broke out across Iran, which the Freedom Party supported.

These protests were violently put down by the Shah’s police, with thousands of people dying in what would become known as the June Uprising. Following the protests, the Shah outlawed pro-democracy groups, like the Freedom Party, and imprisoned their leaders. Bazargan was sentenced to ten years in prison.

The MEK founders knew that the fight for democracy in Iran was not over, but also knew that they had to find a different path as repeating the actions of the Freedom Movement was sure to fail.

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO THE MEK AT CAMP ASHRAF IN IRAQ?

by Mahmood Hakamian

In 1986, around 1,000 members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) travelled to Iraq in order to build a new operations base for their resistance group with the hopes of bringing democracy to Iran.

They were given a barren patch of land in the desert, near the Iranian border, which had a few deserted and partially-constructed buildings, but no running water or electricity. This was Camp Ashraf. It expanded quickly as MEK supporters from the US and the EU travelled to the camp in order to help free the Iranian people from the grasp of the mullahs.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MEK IN IRAQ AFTER THE US WITHDREW

The responsibility for the unarmed MEK members in Iraq was transferred from the US to the Iraqi government, but the MEK (and various legal experts and NGOs) opposed this and believed that they would be in danger if the US left them under Iraqi control. Their reasoning was that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was working on behalf of the Iranian Regime, who were keeping him in power.

The US dismissed this because they had written assurances from the Iraqi government that the MEK would be treated in accordance with Iraq’s Constitution, laws, and international obligations. However, it turned out that the MEK was right.

Since the US left, 116 MEK members were killed by Iraqi forces and over 1,300 injured.

Despite the violations of human rights, international law, and the 2004 agreement between the US and the MEK, there has been no independent investigation of these crimes and no one was brought to justice.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MEK IN CAMP LIBERTY?

UNFIT LIVING CONDITIONS
The MEK had transformed their previous home of Camp Ashraf into a fully functioning city, so you can imagine how they felt about being moved to a place which an expert from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) concluded was unfit to accommodate them.
Camp Liberty no electricity, no running or potable water, no sewage system, no public lighting, no room for recreation, damaged kitchen and dining facilities, and inadequate living quarters. Still Martin Kobler, Special Representative for Iraq and the Head of United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), agreed to the relocation without allowing the MEK to view it and produced a report that said it met the international humanitarian standards required.
Kobler’s report actually caused Tahar Boumedra, former Chief of the Human Rights Office of UNAMI to resign in protest at the lies given to the MEK, the international community, and the UN Security Council.
Boumedra said that Kobler’s agreement with the Iraqi government “[violated] each and every article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the corresponding provisions of the ICCRP [the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights]”.
Still, the majority of the MEK were forcibly relocated to Camp Liberty where, in addition to inadequate living conditions, they were still faced with harassment and violence by the Iraqi security forces on behalf of the Iranian Regime.
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THE ROLE OF THE MEK IN THE IRAN-IRAQ WAR

by Mahmood Hakamian

In this piece, we will look at the role of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) during the Iran-Iraq war, but let’s begin with some background to the war.

How did the war begin?

Iraq invaded Iran on September 20, 1980, following repeated provocative border crossings by Iranian forces and warmongering military actions ordered by Khomeini, then supreme leader of regime. Nonetheless, majority of Iranians, including the MEK, went into battle to defend their homeland.

By January 1981, the tide on the war had turned against Iran, and by June 1982, Iran had reclaimed almost all of its lost territory. Iraqi President Saddam Hussein proposed a ceasefire and the withdrawal of his troops from Iranian land, but by then the Iranian mullahs could smell blood in the water and refused to agree to the peace talks.

How was the MEK involved?

What Happened to the MEK During the 1979 Revolution?

we left off last time, the mullahs had stolen the 1979 Revolution from the MEK and the people of Iran and were instead using it to serve their own interests. Ruhollah Khomeini had returned from exile only to appoint Supreme Leader (essentially, naming himself king) and appoint the clergy to the government against the wishes of the Iranian People.

The MEK had made clear that they were opposed to this, rejected the mullahs’ offer of ill-gotten power, and had launched a campaign to run against the mullahs in the proposed 1980 election. For that, the Supreme Leader ordered his terrorist gangs (Hezbollah) to attack the MEK.

The MEK took a position of non-violence and waited for the election, which would rightly see them elected as members of parliament. The mullahs, scared of the MEK’s popularity, didn’t want that to happen and instead chose to sabotage the elections.

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HOW THE MULLAHS STOLE THE 1980 ELECTION FROM THE IRANIAN PEOPLE AND MEK

This is the last piece in a series about the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) and the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
Our previous piece ended with the mullah’s launching violent attacks on the MEK via Ruhollah Khomeini’s terrorist gangs (i.e. Hezbollah) in order to intimidate the MEK into dropping out of the 1980 election. The MEK refused to bow out or to join the mullahs in abusing their power, believing that the democratic system would be allowed to work fairly
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